Dimensional Nomads
by EdenAge
Summary: (Hiatus) (Being Re-written) After an the invasion leaves Heartland mostly destroyed, a group of civilians began to relocate outside the city. Ruri, Shun, and Yuto lead their group into an unknown dimension. They try to settle in the satellite of Neo Domino while Team Satisfaction tries to track them down.
1. Birthday

Ruri pressed another rag over her brother's forehead and leveled Yuto with a single glare, "Just how did you two manage to turn recycling into a contact sport?"

"It wasn't our fault." Yuto tried to reason with her. He was nervous; he knew blind overprotectiveness sort of ran in the family. "It was that guy I mentioned yesterday - he did it when we weren't looking."

Shun squirmed below another harsh press. "You know we can't let people step on one of us like that -" He swore. Ruri eased up with the wet compress. Shun continued, "you're the one always talking about adjusting to society's-"

Ruri huffed, "Adjusting to our new home doesn't mean you can go and pick fights when you feel like it."

"It wasn't cause I felt like it - this is gang territory you can't just let something like that go!" Shun growled meekly in protest. Ruri continued her medicinal onslaught. She pulled out the remains of their spare first aid kit. They didn't have enough gauze.

"Ruri, Shun made the right call." Yuto kept his voice level, "You know if you let someone take advantage of you on the junk line everyone knows about it. Shun was doing that guy a favor."

Ruri tore the gauze between her teeth and began wrapping Shun's forearm, "So you think playing heroes-" She paused losing one end between her shaking fingers. "-gives you two an excuse to get into a knife fight?"

Shun rolled his eyes, "It wasn't a knife fight. It was a duel!" Ruri tore off another strip of cloth from her skirt, both Yuto and Shun winced at the sound.

She wrapped a layer of the faded purple cloth over the gauze, tying it secure. "Shun, you need to get a little better at lying." Ruri frowned, "I make rules for a reason. Do you think I'm stupid or something?"

"No ma'am!" Yuto fell in line next to Shun. Ruri watched her brother stand in attention next to his best friend.

"No sir!" Shun smiled. Ruri punched him lightly in the gut. She was smiling too.

In the two years since the academia invasion, she'd quickly settled into a leadership position and begun making some changes. He was glad. Having her in charge meant he could rest easy. She had a good head for dealing with tough situations.

Leave it to the marketing student to lead a resistance group.

Shun couldn't be more proud.

"Good to know you two didn't hit your heads too hard." Ruri smiled and gave each of them a pat on the shoulder. She turned away from them to clean up the first aid kit and the two young men sighed into a more relaxed stance. They both knew with a response like that they were getting off easy.

Shun with his height was out the door in two paces while his friend stood behind and waited. Ruri turned immediately noticing his pause. Yuto knew this was something he couldn't let slide.

"This is the third duel now."

Ruri lowered her stare to the floor and pulled a seat out from the official meeting table. "I know, second one this week too."

"They're targeting Shun." Yuto growled. His hands balled into fists at his sides. Ruri stared up at him, of course she saw. She sees everything. Yuto took a deep breath and forced himself into another chair. She nodded closing her eyes.

"I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed." She hissed. She had clearly already reached the same conclusion. If the overprotective Kurosaki sibling hadn't done anything yet there just wasn't anything that could be done. She changed the topic instead. "This has been a pretty shit birthday so far, huh?" She smiled kindly, her face settling quickly into a practiced calm.

Yuto felt the tension in his shoulders slip away. "I forgot about it until Emma reminded me."

Ruri looked away, "You're… how old now?"

"Sixteen" He answered.

Yuto asked Shun to remind him about a week ago.

Simple dates and other numbers didn't really stick in his mind they way they used to. (It wasn't exactly like he could count the inches.) Yuto knew Ruri would ask, she asked everyone on their birthday. She was probably trying to instill some sense of normalcy or time back into their lives.

She was trying to save them all, in her own way.

"You might just catch up to Shun one day." She laughed. Her chair was quickly brushed clean and stowed back in its original spot at the table. Yuto did the same.

He smiled, "Birthdays don't work like that."

"I was talking about your height." Ruri grinned.

"I don't think my height works like that either." Yuto sighed. "I'm going to go finish my shift." He headed for the door. He had one hand on the frame before turning back, "Don't be too hard on Shun, he really was helping someone out."

Ruri laughed and waved. Yuto ducked out of the small meeting room. Ruri and Emma were the only ones holding down the base on weekdays. Shun would ordinarily be there too but he was always out on some errand or other.

Emma greeted him with an excited wave from her spot on the couch. She was trying to get the TV some reception. Another pet project Ruri probably encouraged. "Did she take it well?"

Yuto knew Emma was too conscious of some old code of manners to ask him directly for help. He also couldn't risk missing more of his shift. "Yeah, I'm headed back now."

She turned back to the TV. "Oh have fun sorting trash then!" And Yuto was out the main door with a wave.

They'd decided it was a good idea to hole up in some old restaurant on the far northeast corner of the island. It took about ten minutes of jogging to get to into town proper and back to the recycle center.

When he got back to his station he found the belt still running as normal, two rows double lined with sorters in stark yellow uniform coats.

Someone had taken his place in line. Yuto frowned; he should have guessed this would happen, people were desperate for work here.

"What a day to get fired." Yuto sighed. Some times it didn't really feel like they had traveled to another dimension. Some days, like this one, Yuto was reminded there were other worries in this world, like job security and the overeager police force.

"Hey." His neighbor snapped him out of his reverie. "What are you doing?" He turned and slid a grease-coated hand under his blue bandana. He looked about as young as Shun.

"My spot is taken." Yuto said.

The young man smiled, "Taka, he's back." The taller of the two glanced up and down the belt than quickly removed the yellow covering from his back. He tossed it Yuto's way and gave him a light shove on the way out. "Don't take it personal, he's just mad I called him out here. Call me Nerve."

Yuto pocketed his studded wristbands and took his place back in line. He remembered the cause of the incident this morning and smiled. "How's your shoulder?"

"Still good enough to work." Nerve laughed. "Thanks for the save, it was lucky you and your friend were here to handle that guy. I don't bring my deck to work - don't want it stolen."

Yuto nodded as he picked up an old cord, looked like the back end of an AC adaptor. He dropped it into the trash box at his feet and moved onto the next object. The blender stand would be too noticeable to snatch. He let it shift down the line.

Nerve picked it up, took a glance at it and let it go. The woman next to him picked it up and put it in the trash box at her feet. Yuto had moved through three more items by then. He'd been waiting for another coil but the team manning the front of the belt was being too watchful to let anything majorly useful slip past.

Yuto tried to imagine Shun going in for a seven-hour shift and getting tired of all the "trash" wading by. He'd probably get in a fight on his first day. (Well, he'd gotten in a fight just trying to give Yuto a break on his birthday - the sorting career didn't seem too promising a path for him.)

Nerve cleared his throat, "You and your friends don't seem like such bad guys, yeah?" The way he kept stealing glances at Yuto, he had to be nervous about something.

Ruri told him once that the way he treated conversations made people feel weird. Talking out loud reassures people. "We're not such bad guys… yeah." Yuto replied.

Nerve laughed, "Distracted there, kid? You remind me of someone I know!" Yuto handed off another part and Nerve dropped it into his personal trash box. He hadn't been called 'kid' in a long time. "You know, if you ever need anything just ask."

Now, _that's_ new. Yuto watched Nerve carefully from the corner of his eye. "What?"

"Us, not so bad guys, we should stick together, yeah?" Nerve nudged their shoulders together with a smile and handed a soldered monkey wrench slider back down the line. "I saw the way you friend duels, if you ever want a match, just let me know ok? You guys are good."

Ah, Yuto steeled his expression. This man probably wanted him to join one of those dueling gangs. The island was full of them. He nodded. Nerve bumped their shoulders again before settling back into his work. They didn't talk for the rest of the day until clock out time for their shift.

Yuto passed off his yellow smock to a shorter person with thick curly red hair who walked in with Taka. Nerve picked up his stacked boxes and followed Yuto to the exit tunnel. They went their separate ways as the sun started to set.

Nerve met up with Blitz a block down at the traders and they split the carrying load on the way home. Nerve couldn't help himself he just had to tell the whole story to his friend.

Nerve was practically giggling with excitement, "So that shady guy with the white hood came back, you know the one that was harassing Rally a week or so back? That guy - he came back in the middle of the morning and was totally hangover. I don't know where he even got enough alcohol to get drunk on!"

"He's probably one of those recent city folks - they're always bringing in trouble. Who would trade for that much anyway?" Blitz sighed and adjusted his glasses.

"Doesn't matter - either way he was totally nuts and he must have seen me helping Rally out the other day - cause he came straight to me to try and take my spot on the line." Nerve said.

Blitz grinned, "Oh shut up, you're not that tough, he probably just thought you were the weakest guy there."

"No way," Nerve denied, "the kid next to me is so scrawny I could probably lift him with one hand. He's all skin and bones." They laughed passing the corner of 5th and Poplin and turned at the corner. They gradually moved more and more west out of Satellite central. Their hideout was on the fringe of the ruined city area. The earthquakes chased everyone else way apparently.

"What is up with calling everyone kid now? Spending too much time with Crow? The shorty might be older than you maybe - seemed like the kind of guy with one of those faces. They always look young but they're like 30 years old." Blitz reasoned.

"What? Why'd you think that, you know the guy?" Nerve asked.

"You left right behind him, right? You waved to him. He didn't see it. You tried to play it off like you were rubbing the back of your head-"

"OK, yeah I get it, Blitz." Nerve blanched, "That's not important - anyway that kid's friend came in or something all mad, saying his sister wanted him or something. I was minding my own business trying to talk this crazy guy down and he was just getting madder and madder and eventually the kid just grabbed his arm and tried to cut in or something."

"So the little guy next to you saved your ass? Get to the point, dude. So you've got a crush on your work friend - what'd you do, ask him to come over for dinner?" Blitz wiggled his eyebrows as he said it.

Nerve gawked at his friend, "No I do not have a crush on this pipsqueak he's like 3 years old! He's so tiny I could probably throw him across the sound right into the city."

"Again, he didn't look any younger than you did."

"He's like 5!"

"You're like 3."

"Shut up - will you let me finish my story here?" Nerve shuffled past the cracks in the street taking a peek down inside. The lights weren't on yet so Yusei was probably still topside taking care of something - no sign of Crow either. "So anyway this fight breaks out, this kid's friend steps in and wipes the floor with the guy - but there was some funny business going on - this guy had a knife and he musta been something fast cause somehow he got to the kid's friend before I could see it."

Blitz choked, "You got that guy mixed up in a knife fight?"

"His friend. His friend's gotta be like 25 or something he's huge, dude. Fast too. Also, he's like super good at dueling - seriously I didn't even understand half the stuff he was doing." Nerve stopped knocking on the door two times, pausing, and knocking once more. "Honestly I think he's so good he might be better than Jack!"

The door opened quickly at that. Nerve and Blitz looked up to greet the body blocking the door. Nerve grinned while Blitz swore under his breath. He just hoped they were being quieter than he thought-

The tall blonde smirked from the door, "And just who do you think you're comparing to the great Jack Atlas?"

Of course he heard Nerve's babbling. Of course.

"No one." Blitz tried.

"I think I found you a pretty good rival, that's all." Nerve laughed. Jack let them both in but didn't leave their side for long. It wasn't everyday someone claims to find a challenge for the great Jack. Clearly, he had some duelists left to beat down.

Yusei was in the back by the window tearing through a wet potato sandwich while Crow was leaning backwards over a chair with his feet propped up on the table. He was gesturing excitedly with his hands while explaining something. His plate was empty.

Jack cleared his throat once the boxes were all settled. Yusei watched the boxes rattle then nodded at Blitz and Nerve before returning his attention to Crow's lightning paced story.

Nerve's smile was challenging, "All I'm saying is I found someone who can beat the great Jack Atlas is all." And like magic the room fell silent. Everyone turned to stare at Nerve, then to watch the great king react.

Jack was excited. It had been a long time since someone gave him and interesting duel, other than Yusei of course. They all gathered in as Nerve began retelling the story - this time with another layer of imagined excitement that had everyone shocked. Blitz felt a thin sheen of sweat form over his temples watching Jack's expression. He adjusted his glasses.

Jack was always impressive, but there wasn't a single thing the man wouldn't do for a good duel.

Yuto finished retelling the day's events at the base from under the old cable box he was tearing open for his computer project. Shun perched on the far seat of the couch while Owen and Tim practically bounced up and down on closer seating.

"Kurosaki did you really do that?" Owen asked.

"That's so cool!" Tim laughed.

"When I grow up I wanna be Kurosaki!" Owen bravely declared throwing one fist in the air. He jumped off the couch and sprinted around the living space laughing and shouting out "Raidraptor!"

"I wanna be Kurosaki too! I wanna be miss Kurosaki!" Tim jumped up raising his other fist. The two ran around chasing each other and fighting off pretend "bad guys".

Yuto glanced up at his friend from under the holes he was sawing through the worn plastic box. Shun was smiling watching the kids trying to re-enact Ruri's declaration of the Heartland survivors as a nomadic group. Tim was trying to do her speech as much justice as his half-literate 7-year-old vocabulary could.

Miss Pooja caught them and dragged them into the barracks around and hour after dinner for bedtime. Ruri left shortly after eating talking about mapping out more of the city. They were always looking to relocate. Sitting still in one space just didn't feel safe after a year and a half on the move.

Before twelve, twenty more refugees would return to the base and settle into their booth sleeping spaces in the "barracks". Shun always slept in the morning through lunch and operated mostly at night - along with Emma and Ruri. Yuto took one of the seven working day shifts. The rest were either too young too old or too unlucky to work the jobs open on the island. Those people took care of each other and managing the base.

Ruri led the group out of their home across dimensions to find a better future. If they could settle into this strange trash island after another month or so, they could call back to the main camp - let them know the situation and maybe they'd move the rest in.

Yuto felt his eyelids drooping - hunger and exhaustion weren't new to him - but outside Heartland they had started scavenging, harvesting - they weren't necessarily healthy eaters - but they ate at least once a day typically.

On this tiny island those that could afford to skip meals let the food pass like junk on the recycling line. It moved down to those who were behind them on a shifting priority list.

He was used to hunger, but working on an empty stomach two days in a row was starting to reach his head. The wires blurred together and he let the jerry-rigged pliers settle on the ground.

He was supposed to eat today, but Tim was crying again - homesick. He didn't know how to cheer him up other than giving him the small meal instead. Yuto smiled as his fingers fumbled in the dark for the correct input for an ancient AV cable.

He could deal with it for another day or so.

Yuto passed out on the dusty floor.


	2. Fever

"When Vanishing Lanius is normal or special summoned I can summon another from my hand." Shun watched his opponent fold her arms with a malicious smirk.

"So what bird brain? It doesn't matter how many of your dumb birds you have - you can't destroy my monsters and so long as I leave them in defense you can't do anything!"

Shun was already proficient at resisting that xyz summoning itch. He didn't have a problem winning without the extra deck. "Battle! I attack Toon Goblin Attack Force with my Vanishing Lanius!" Shun declared. The green bird circled around the dedicated duel field angling in on the cartoon creature. The bird dove in and was stopped by the beast's massive club.

"Why are you even trying, featherhead? Because of Toon Kingdom I can banish a card from the top of my deck and prevent my Goblin's destruction." She laughed, "Even with 0 attack points you can't do anything without piercing effects!"

"I activate a facedown, Raptor's Gust!" shun declared. "When an opponent activates a spell card I can negate the activation, and destroy that card!" The floating book kingdom crashed into the ground shattering into holographic pieces. The goblin screeched shattering as well.

Shun ignored the outraged cries of the dueling novice as her plans collapsed. "My second Vanishing Lanius can attack you directly!" with 1300 atk cutting away from a measly 1000 life points, Shun took another match from the straggler.

He promised Ruri he would avoid the dueling gangs. He wouldn't join one and he wouldn't take any on while he still relied on the base to come home to.

The last thing he would tolerate is anyone trying to follow him home.

If anyone found their way out to the base - he be sure to thoroughly deal with them. After a brief scare back at start of the invasion Shun found himself clinging tighter and tighter to his family and friends.

Especially in this new world - he refused to let a single one of them experience that danger again. So he kept his duels to stragglers or jumpers on the edge of major duel areas.

Dodging the bikes on street level was easy compared to running from a giant gear golem. He slept better knowing that everyone in his group was pretty much safe from police involvement. The leveled city made running from anything on wheels simple. It's why duels stayed primarily in those areas.

You can't outrun a bike in the flatlands though.

Nowhere to hide, nowhere to climb, you can't outrun an engine.

Still, he couldn't get distracted cause he was tired - they had a deal.

"The deal." He demanded. They dueled for the only currency Shun cared about. The girl scowled and spat at his feet. The moon danced off the marker on her check as she ripped two potatoes out of her backpack and threw them on the ground. She spat down and swore then sprinted back through the old apartment complex as if Shun would chase her.

He scowled picked up the food and began the long walk home.

When he got there he found his best friend unconscious under the desk in the corner again. No one had moved him, meaning Ruri wasn't back yet. Shun twisted the doorknob before silently gliding the door shut. He dropped off the food in his customary place before returning to the living space they all shared.

He knelt down, Yuto was pale and his breathing was quick. Shun's original idea was to carry him to a booth and let him sleep - but they already made a pact about nightmares. He shook Yuto's shoulder. Back in Heartland Yuto would wake up for a pin dropping - work on the belt must be dulling his edge.

Nerve was jamming his feet into his shoes earlier than he expected to in the morning. His routine was waking with the sun, making sure Yusei was actually attempting sleep instead of working on some project or other - then rising slowly with some hot water and some Struggle O's for breakfast. But this time Jack intervened.

There is no routine when Jack gets involved.

So his morning was instead spent forcing himself into a state of alertness. Jack sat down and did the unthinkable. Jack was the master of shaking things up - he hated boredom the most. He didn't waste time with small talk he simply watched Nerve like a hawk for some special moment.

This happened to be the point when Nerve reached for his cereal - Jack intervened. He offered a trade. "I have the bottom of a cup of old instant noodles. They're yours if you get that rival here today." He took a step back and revealed the instant cup steaming, open, catching the morning light like some kind of advertisement.

Nerve's stomach said yes.

When he arrived at the work line and saw Shorty hitting the low point in his wellness pattern, he slammed his head against the hideous yellow smock hangar. Regret. Slam. Regret. Slam. Regret.

Shorty went through cycles - and everyone noticed who worked with him. The kid was at his best at the start, alert watching everyone and everything in the room with his dark eyes. People noticed because he made them uncomfortable.

Slowly he declined - lost his edge. He usually peaked day two or three when the lack of sleep got to him. He'd get shifty; sometimes he'd sway at work. Nerve wasn't always next to him in line (no matter how interesting the pretty boy was Nerve wasn't giving up a chance at good trade) so sometimes he'd watch others glance down at the guy, reach out sometimes.

Everyone on that line that stayed more than a few days was genuine good people. Sure if you cut in front of the Frost brothers at the front you might catch a fight outside after work - but there was no bad blood.

Bottom line was - everyone needed the job and no one wanted to have anyone risky at work. If someone threatened the order they were dealt with and force out some way or another.

Shorty was a part of that order now.

After yesterdays incident? He and his friend would be welcomed back to defend the belts for as long as they could work their share.

Nerve settled in before the guy was at his station. His palms were sweaty his stomach churned. He wasn't risking pissing one guy off - he was quite possibly risking his job.

Yuto thought he would get in earlier - better chance at finding a coil for that electro magnet he'd need. He left the base early but somehow after the sun beat down on him through the morning walk, he clocked in at exactly the same time as usual.

He settled into his spot at Nerve's side and began the day settling through the city's trash. The first hour was groggy for everyone - Nerve being the exception. For some strange reason his working neighbor was feeling an uncanny energy rush and was fidgeting like crazy.

Yuto tried to ignore the rhythmic tapping. It was excessive. His head was bobbing he was getting into some rhythm, some kind of musical groove. Of course in the absence of anything but the stuffy hot room and the aggressive silence of the other workers, he looked ridiculous.

Yuto squirmed. He didn't like attention. A good chunk of his life was spent avoiding unwanted notice - a significant portion made that his first priority. A quick glance around the room found a number of aggravated half-glares direct his way.

He ducked his head further into his shoulders and wished for once in his life that he were even shorter.

The air was so thick the short movement sent him swaying back on his feet. He caught the edge of the belt with his hands and dragged himself into place. Yuto figured it would be time to eat around dinner - first would be Nan's shift - he worked the sales street and would need the energy boost during the day to deal with afternoon crowds.

After him, Yuto would get to eat.

He watched the belt pass him through a haze. He was sluggish in his work, he barely had the focus to mentally berate himself through the smog in his mind. It seemed worse than the last time he struck out on the food list. Something felt different.

His face felt hot, the belt and its mechanical parts felt like picking up chunks of ice. He took longer looking over pieces to the point that Nerve was starting to essentially take them from his hands. He needed to be faster.

He forced his hands into action when he noticed the slight tremor. A trick he learned a long time ago: his hands shook less when they had a task. The muscles moved with a plan of action - they had less time to shake. He tried to pick up his pace.

He picked up a solid drive - it was thoroughly fried and between all the melting and the rusting he doubted anyone could get use out of it other than for scrap. It took him longer than it should have to put it back on the belt. Someone could probably melt it down.

It slipped out of his fingers a third of the way there and dropped onto his toe.

Then, Yuto collapsed.

Crow was doing pretty well considering his record. He dropped off the food with the kids on 5th and started down the street on the way home. He did good, got in got out - nothing was marked. A load of potatoes and canned vegetables from the city, it was a gold mine. Those kids would be well fed for a week if they could ration it out.

Feeling high he decided he'd stop by the markets - see if he could catch Yusei out trading for parts. He was trying to gather up some replacements for his duel disk - the wire Kiryu installed got jammed after the last job and needed a new part.

They were sitting out on some big action in the meantime. Apparently there was some phantom outlier picking off duelists when they were alone in the dead of night in the unstable parts of old uptown.

Crow felt the skip returning in his step. He'd done his good deed - soon he'd be able to keep the fighting away from those learners too. Just one or two more days and they could be back out on the streets as a team!

Kiryu said they'd be hitting up a group of known insect duelists while Yusei was benched but that seemed to be running late. He was a pretty considerate guy, he'd probably switch off to another target knowing the team mechanic's fear.

That's when he saw the curious sight of someone half dragging a body through the square in the middle of the day. After the obnoxious bandana choice clicked in his mind Crow sprinted to catch him.

"Nerve, what the hell is going on?" Crow's mind was flying a mile a minute. Short, male, dark hair, definitely unconscious and dragged sloppily over his friend's shoulder - it couldn't be that duelist from work could it?

Nerve was gasping, "Help me get him back, he passed out I don't know where he lives or anyone that knows him" He paused his frantic pace lifting the guy off his shoulder and setting him on the ground. His body was screaming at him sweat streaming down his face in the summer heat. "I don't know what to do. He just- He just-"

"Get him on my back. I'll run him home." Crow was panting in the heat. It was oppressive. He probably passed out from heat exhaustion, he wouldn't be the first.

"What do I do?" Nerve bounced on his toes.

Crow hissed, "I don't know - find out who knows him someone has to be worried his gone missing, they'll probably look for him at work."

"I don't know who knows him! Crow, I don't even know his name!"

"You saw his one friend right? Go! Find him go!" Crow took off running and Shoed nerve off on another trip. It would be easier without having to wait around on him - Crow was in better shape to be doing this anyway.

He made it home in record time, slipping through a crack in the sidewalk, in through a basement to the door to their base. He knocked twice, paused, then once more. It didn't take long for Jack to get to the door.

"What the hell?" Jack stepped out of the way and Crow rushed his way inside. "Where's Nerve?"

"Out." Crow was preoccupied. "Yusei clear the table." Yusei was on his feet in an instant, the plates and Tupperware were shoved to other flat surfaces and the chairs moved out of the way. He approached Crow and grabbed the stranger under the arms.

Working together they gently laid him down on the table. Crow put a hand over his forehead, the diagnosis was instant but his breath was still coming in gasps.

"Fever?" Yusei supplied. Crow just responded with a tired nod. Kiryu moved downstairs hearing the commotion. He was shoving his deck back in its rightful pouch as he assessed the situation.

"How did he pass out?" Kiryu turned to Crow. "He might have a fever but it might be because of something else."

"Do you need anything else? It's like a million degrees out!" Crow groaned. He collapsed into a chair and gratefully accepted the glass of water Jack handed him.

Kiryu moved over the stranger assessing him. He was first struck by the state of dress. The teen was in some form of collared shirt still wearing a tie. No matter how battered or bruised clothes like that still were out of place in satellite.

The biggest stick out was the shoe choice. No one would get their hands on a pair of shoes like that - they wouldn't make it through the trash, or security.

"How did he get here?" Kiryu muttered.

Crow stopped gulping down water, "Uh, I carried him - Nerve carried him out of the recycle belters, we don't know where he lives or who knows him."

Kiryu leaned over the stranger sizing him up, "I don't think anyone would. He's not from satellite."

Jack approached, "What? That's not possible! He doesn't have a marker."

"Yeah, also why would he get a job here if he was from the city?" Crow echoed, "Makes no sense."

Kiryu exhaled, "No, look at these shoes. The clothes I could see on a lucky trade but there's no way you'd get those in satellite. I haven't seen anything in the market come close to that."

"They're basically ruined. Everything is all stitched together" Jack wrinkled his nose.

Jack reached for the stranger's deck pouch but Yusei brushed his hand away and shook his head. "Nothing there will help him get better." They locked eyes from across the table. "We should get Martha."

"It's too hot out - we shouldn't take him out in the heat." Kiryu reasoned, "It might make him worse."

"I can bring her here." Crow decided. "Nerve should be up top asking around about who knows him. Apparently he has one friend, maybe they'll show up here." The group all shared a nod of approval and Crow again sprinted out of the house. He was the fastest out of all of them.

Jack, Kiryu, and Yusei settled over the stranger. It wasn't the first time they'd intervened to help someone, but it was the first time they couldn't figure out who to contact about it. They didn't know anything about him and until he woke up - they weren't sure what to do with him.

Jack sighed, "Well I don't want him on my bed, he smells." Yusei assaulted him with the usual disapproving gaze. "What?" Jack huffed, "I'm just stating my opinion here. We have a series of beds and I'd rather not have him getting the table gross either."

'Jack speak' for: _get this poor kid on a bed._ Kiryu smirked, "We could stick him in Crow's, he's not here to say no." Yusei sent _the stare_. Kiryu shut his mouth and turned away, a smile still on his face. "Well, if you're bent outta shape about it we'll stick him in yours."

Yusei saw the trick for what it was. Still it was the most sensible option out of the other suggestions. He moved to the stranger's legs and Jack helped loop his arms around the mechanic's shoulders. The stranger slumped into place and shifted, not even half conscious.

Yusei carried him up to ground level and deposited him on top of his own sleeping space. There wasn't exactly a frame - he had number of pillows and soft things piled into his corner all wrapped up in a sheet and 2 blankets.

He tried to straighten out the bedding as much as possible before dropping his charge off. Aside from the bedding his room had a number of notes scattered around the floor and a personal project in the corner.

He caught himself staring and thinking through the mechanics of the hefty short-range radio station again. He snapped himself out before he got lost in the theories of how to make it function again.

"How do you even sleep in that?" Jack groaned from the doorway. Yusei turned back to the bedding to find the stranger had half rolled onto his side with his head pressed into an awkward angle. His face was shifting expression slowly in a negative direction. "Is he waking up?"

Jack and Yusei approached the bedding as Kiryu moved back downstairs to get some water. "I don't know." Yusei hummed. He reached out to the stranger's head. Waking up like that might put a strain on his neck. He thought he'd move it.

Yusei made to grab him by the temples and felt a sudden shifting. Behind him Jack felt a hot pain jolt through his forearm. He kept it covered at all times, but sometimes secrecy got a little difficult when the damned thing had a nasty habit of glowing.

The stranger stirred once in his sleep and Jack didn't press his luck. With Yusei distracted he made sure to drop one last sarcastic line before ducking out.


	3. Breakfast

Yuto woke up with a pounding in his head. He felt disconnected from his body. His arms and legs felt hot and heavy his eyes glued shut. His breaths were short and came with rhythmic pauses. He didn't remember what he was doing when he fell asleep. He didn't remember walking home from work, checking if Ruri or Shun were in. He was just tired. He dipped in and out of sleep.

It was hunger that really pushed him to stir. It slowly built until it surpassed weariness. Yuto decided he would have to move to get to food.

He took a deep steadying breath and opened his eyes. He glanced about slowly focusing on the dense details of the room. The walls were bare and there was a strange lack of furniture but the whole room was littered with engineering. Tiny mechanical pieces were laid out in trays and lids next to larger projects. One of them looked like an engine.

Yuto sat up trying his hardest to remember the days when he was quiet for a reason. He was in a stranger's place. Maybe a garage - maybe a scraper's house, and an unfamiliar and unsafe place was not a good one to wake up in. At least no one was watching him. He spotted a door and approached, hoping he wasn't locked inside.

He tried the handle. It was open. Yuto placed his ear at the door and waited. He inhaled and exhaled slowly trying to keep silent. He counted to ten and heard nothing. He then carefully twisted the knob and slid the door open and glanced up and down a short hall. There were several other doors there, and a set of stairs descending.

Yuto quickly crept to the landing above the steps. The railing was welded from various sources, probably all scrap, and he didn't trust it to keep quiet even with his slim weight. He tried his best to keep his feet even on it as he descended. The lower landing was in a tight hallway. He'd just have to risk getting caught walking through it.

Yuto stepped into the hall when he heard the crisp snap of a pair of wood chopsticks being broken. He instantly froze. Of course there was someone else in the building, why would he be left alone with so much valuable scrap otherwise? They clearly didn't think he was leaving anytime soon.

He'd just have to prove them wrong.

He was soundless approaching the corner. He could tell from the light direction there was only one source. Practice told him it wasn't too close to the hall he was in, probably around 3 meters. He'd just have to bet they didn't sit too far from the light in the middle of the night.

Yuto held his hair down as he peeked around the corner. He didn't recognize the man at the table but he was clearly in some form of house. There was the kitchen and what looked like windows covered in thick blackout curtains. So, it was a secret house at least.

The man was tall and had blonde hair. He was right handed, judging from how he ate, and was wearing a brown sleeveless vest. Yuto held his breath and ducked back into the safety of the hall. He remembered Shun telling him about a duel gang with brown vests. That's where he was.

Some team or other must have kidnapped him, they must want him to duel.

A light sigh echoed just behind Yuto, "Hungry, kid?" Yuto spun around and abruptly bumped into another brown vest. He retreated a few steps into the kitchen when his head spun. He tripped back until he was stopped on the table.

A hot familiar anger surged in his head. He blinked it away and tried to steady himself with some deep breaths. He got caught - getting mad wouldn't help the situation.

Jack watched the exchange with minimal response. He was never good with night shifts, always got too groggy. He casualy slid his right arm under the table. The birthmark had a bad habit of acting up around their guest.

Kiryu underestimated Jack. He thought the blonde might end up sleeping through his shift and decided to come check up on him. He just happened to run into their guest on the way.

The kid looked awful tired. "You passed out at work. Nerve brought you here." Kiryu still kept his voice hushed. The guest blinked and let his hands fall limp against his sides. His eyes looked tired but sharp, alert. Kiryu was beginning to regret convincing Yusei to leave the kid alone. He was obviously confused.

Yuto's stomach growled loudly. He didn't break eye contact.

"I'm Kiryu, tall guy over there is Jack. If you sit down I'll get you something to eat." He laughed. Yuto felt around blindly behind him with his left hand until he found a chair. Then he sat down.

Jack rolled his eyes, too tired for humor. He didn't ask to sleep because someone of his stature shouldn't need to ask for such things. He grabbed his fresh cup of instant noodles and made his way back upstairs. Kiryu bumped their shoulders on the way.

Jack held back a snort. Kiryu didn't want him to wake Yusei up. He was trying to baby them again. The blonde rolled his shoulder and first dropped off his meal in his room. He'd spend the night organizing his deck.

Yuto stared down at the bowl in front of him.

There was no purpose in drugging him if they wanted him to be coherent for a duel. It was probably safe, but Shun's nagging voice rang out in the back of his mind. He looked up to the stranger sitting across the table from him. White hair, headband, thin nose, and a steep jawline - Yuto tried to memorize his face.

He knew the tracking device in his duel disk would only show up with short-range radio waves. He needed to get a message out to someone. Still the brown vests hadn't done anything overtly harmful so far. Ruri forbade them all from seeking out dueling gangs - but she never made rules on what to do when kidnapped by one.

They might prove useful somehow - especially if they can make a functioning engine out of scrap.

Since the stranger, Kiryu, wasn't going to ask him any questions, he'd just have to start: "Where am I?" Yuto asked. He started eating.

"A safe house for Team Satisfaction." Kiryu replied.

Yuto remembered the equally short explanation on how he'd arrived. "Where's Nerve?" he asked.

"Probably at his house," Kiryu sighed. "How are you feeling?"

Yuto swallowed a mouthful before answering, "I'm fine." He wasn't sure how to deal with these Team Satisfaction guys. They weren't outwardly hostile. Apparently they'd just taken him from his workplace. He'd passed out - he probably wasn't getting the full story.

Nerve didn't wear a brown coat. How was he connected to this gang? Maybe he should ask that next? "How do you know Nerve?" Yuto asked.

The man across from him smiled, "That's a bit of a long story." Kiryu laughed. "The short bit? I met him through Rally. I think Yusei knew him a little before then, though."

That name sounded familiar. Nerve mentioned him once or twice. Yuto continued to watch Kiryu as he ate. The taller man smiled and even started to laugh a little once. He eventually looked away. "You remind me of someone else, what's your name, kid?"

"Yuto." He answered.

"Well, Yuto, being hungry isn't exactly new around here. It's just something you'll have to get used to." Kiryu sighed. He looked back at Yuto's face. They made eye contact, "When did you come over from the city?"

They hadn't been living in satellite for long, but Yuto had already heard enough about tensions between the two. He put his spoon down and started drinking the remains of his meal from the bowl to buy a little thinking time.

Clearly Kiryu already had the impression he was an outsider. Yuto wasn't sure how anyone would know that just from looking at him… unless he saw the heartland duel disk?

He was the one who made the initial reports to Ruri about the technology discrepancies between the two dimensions. They didn't have anything close to solid vision duel disks. He was intimately aware that the satellite was some kind of trash dump for a more modern cleaner city.

Yuto set the bowl down and removed his duel disk from his belt hook. He normally didn't bring it to work but since the incident on his birthday he wasn't going to let someone duel him down in the street. He wasn't mistaken though - no one else seems to have heard of solid vision technology.

And yet, someone's monster made a real injury on Shun's arm when they dueled.

He didn't care to answer Kiryu's question. "Have you heard of duels causing real damage to people?" Yuto asked.

Kiryu's smile disappeared. He leaned in closer over the table. "Why'd you ask that?"

A question for a question, Yuto tried to hide his disappointment. He wasn't sure how much he could explain before someone like Kiryu would start piecing things together. The man clearly thought through his responses more than someone like Shun did. He might piece something together.

He couldn't risk giving away their position to any Academia scouts. "I think I had a dream about it while I was unconscious."

The Team Satisfaction member looked interested. "How much of it do you remember?" he asked.

"Does Nerve use a frog deck? I had a dream he was taking up 2 spots on the junk line with frog monsters." Yuto spun his best lie he could. "They were using their tongues to grab hard to reach scrap." Kiryu laughed. Yuto felt the tension leave them both.

"Frogs?" He laughed, "Oh man, you should tell that to him in the morning. You've got quite the imagination there, kid." He settled on smiling at Yuto. The Heartland rebel nodded back before sticking his spoon in his bowl. He seemed to be in the clear. "Don't worry about the dishes, Crow will get them later. It's his turn today."

"Where's your bathroom?" Yuto decided it would be time to leave a message out for whoever drifted by.

"Right there." Kiryu pointed.

"Thank you." Yuto replied. He nodded his head in thanks before standing up and pushing his chair in behind him. He could almost feel Kiryu's eyes on his back as he made his way across the room. He felt much better after eating so he didn't sway once.

Once safely inside he sat down on the lid and opened his duel disk. He opened the message function and sent a group message out. 'At Team Satisfaction Base. I'm ok. They gave me food. I should be home soon.' He smiled and hit the send button.

As expected there was no receivers in range. He half expected Shun to be sniffing him out by now - just how far is the Team Satisfaction base from work?

He quickly typed out another message. 'If I'm too late please knock before kicking the door in.' At least Shun wouldn't make a bad impression if he got too impatient.

Outside Kiryu set the bowl and spoon down in the sink. He wasn't sure what to think of their guest. He was short and his hair was weird but he didn't feel like he was looking at a child. It wasn't uncommon for some kids to look older than they were in a rough place like satellite.

But this Yuto guy felt different somehow.

When he'd avoided Kiryu's question about the city. There was a weird look in his eyes. Something he didn't recognize as the general tired expression. Something darker.

They'd only spoken a few words to each other but Kiryu already knew better than to trust their guest. He would make sure to warn Yusei and Crow when they were awake. He also kept looking at their vests.

He might be from a duel gang. It wasn't unlikely. Nerve actually mentioned him dueling very well. The more Kiryu thought about it the more excited he got. Someone he didn't know about, someone he could track down. The thought of a fresh challenge was invigorating.

Maybe this guest could be their return hunt when Yusei repairs the duel disks. It could be amazing. It could be perfect!

Shun felt the hum of the vibration on his arm. It was faint but that's because they designed it that way. He ducked into an alleyway and opened his messages. One was from his friend. Shun sighed in relief.

He'd found Yuto.

He sounded fine, but Shun didn't trust that. Yuto and Ruri were the analytical types. Sure, the shortest of the trio could figure out a solution to any problem - but sometimes people tripped him up.

Shun didn't trust he wasn't being tricked.

He already told Ruri before he set out: He wasn't coming home unless he was brining Yuto with him.


End file.
